Paolo Hospital Phaholyothin, under the Phyathai-Paolo Hospital Group, is preparing to allocate a five-year investment budget to upgrade its medical services to treat Covid-19 and other emerging diseases.
The hospital would not disclose the investment value, saying only that the money will support the development of treatment efficiency and innovations to cope with illnesses, starting from this year.
Veeraya Paocharoen, executive director of Paolo Hospital Phaholyothin, said the hospital will continue to invest in the healthcare business as it is increasingly important in Thailand because of its ageing society.
It is expected that the number of people aged 60 and over will make up more than 20% of the population of 66.1 million this year.
"We aim to keep our hospital in line with global standards, so we have to keep upgrading and developing our medical services," said Dr Veeraya.
He said the pandemic had raised operation costs for hospitals, while government travel restrictions made it difficult for foreign patients to reach Thailand.
"The pandemic caused the number of foreign patients of our hospital to decrease 10%," said Dr Veeraya.
However, Covid-19 forced hospitals in Thailand to reform themselves as well as improve their efficiency, which will eventually lead to healthcare business growth.
Dr Veeraya said Paolo Hospital Phaholyothin will focus on diseases that are increasing in Thailand, as well as illnesses among the ageing population.
Mental illnesses, including stress disorder and depression, are expected to increase as many people are struggling to earn a living and cannot avoid heavy workloads.
Phyathai-Paolo Hospital Group is a subsidiary of SET-listed Bangkok Dusit Medical Services, the largest private healthcare group in Thailand, with 7,732 beds in total.
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